You know those nights where you go to make dinner and realize that you have nothing that constitutes a proper meal, but you’re also way too exhausted to go out and get something? This happens a lot in grad school. How many times have you wished that you could get dinner delivery of something besides pizza or Chinese? This also happens a lot in grad school.
Well, London has listened. Amity and I found out about a great little place right here in Fulham that delivers – wait for it – burgers. That’s right, burgers. We held on to the idea and finally, on one of those nights where we knew we weren’t going to eat unless somebody walked up and put the food in our hands, we called up the nice guys at Chosen Bun.
Despite the plethora of Harry Potter references that could be made with a place whose name is a play on “Chosen One,” I keep thinking of Kung Pow.
So we pretty much reenacted that scene as I stood on the sidewalk calling “Chooosen Buuun!” and the delivery guy yelled, “I’m coming!” as his motorcycle inexplicably jumped backwards and forwards down the road. Or that’s what I imagined happening in my head (it’s a scary place, folks).
He really did pull up on a little motorcycle with a big thermal bag on the back, fill my arms with steaming boxes, and speed off into the sunset. It was beautiful.
I raced back upstairs and Amity and I spread out our feast on the kitchen table. First, we had a big decision: which shake to try first?
One of the things that really appealed to me about Chosen Bun was the simplicity of their menu. They don’t have a ton of options, but the options they do have are good ones. It’s not overwhelming and it’s easy to make your picks.
Their handmade “moonshakes” came in three flavors: Oreo, rum vanilla caramel, and strawberry banana. Am & I had a good laugh about that last one – I mean, really? It just doesn’t compete. Naturally we ordered one each of the first two and swapped them back and forth.
They were foamy and delicious, and both excellent although I’d say the rum won out by just a bit. Plus now we have a jar that we can use to pretend we’re drinking rum at any time of the day. It’s endlessly amusing.
Let’s not dawdle over the shakes for too long, though, because there’s still the main event to come!
Our burgers and baked Belgian chips were packed up tight in cardboard fortresses that kept them secure and piping hot on the journey here.
We popped open the top of the burger box to find a second layer of vented protection.
Throw that aside, and you have a masterpiece in a branded bun staring you in the face:
Amity and I both got The Shoveman. It had all the essential ingredients plus top secret Shoveman Sauce, and was quite literally dripping with red onion & garlic chutney (that sludgy stuff at the bottom).
These were some GOOD burgers. My iron is rising to satisfactory levels just looking at that picture again.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Amazing burgers. Handmade milkshakes. All delivered right to your door. This has got to be too good to be true. These burgers must be transported in some reckless and dangerous fashion, right? They probably roll up to your building carried by a baby riding an alligator. Think again…
If you’re worried about that, Chosen Bun sets your mind right at ease. But that’s not the only inappropriate method of food delivery, is it?
Don’t worry, guys! These burgers won’t come by kayak, or by old-timey giant-wheeled bicycle. I know I was concerned about that. It’s motorcycles or bust for these dudes.
They don’t know I exist, I was just so excited by the concept of burger delivery that I had to share. My brother, at least, will be totally down with this.
Julie, I am recently in discussion with a New York grad student (originally from California) about student diets – that is, how they eat – and the foodways associated with students in Ireland compared to America. I’d love to know if you think the diets are similar for students on both sides of the Atlantic – or if the quality of the food in the States is better. I appreciate that London is a world city – but perhaps Ireland (where my student correspondent lived) is more limited. I can testify that while I was in college, there were less “cheap and healthy” options than today – or perhaps students just prefer fries and chips.
Hmm, that’s a really interesting question. It’s a bit tough to say as my living situations in the US vs. the UK are very different. I was an undergrad in America (with no personal kitchen and a dining-hall-only meal plan) and am a grad student in London (with a full kitchen in my flat, no meal plan, and two years of experience living on my own & cooking for myself). I also went to college in a very rural part of New York State, and am now living in the center of a busy, international city. So I can definitely recognize differences – but it’s hard for me to say whether they’re due to the country, or to other factors!
Overall, I think that there’s more variety in the US, which also means a bigger range. There are “health crazes” taking hold in many areas and healthy options are more widely available than ever before, but the stereotypical American junk food market is also pervasive. On the other hand, the British diet seems to be a bit more “communal,” if that makes sense. To grossly simplify it, most people seem to eat the same things as everyone else. There also seems to be a bit more moderation over here, and less stigma attached to certain diets (most Brits still fully embrace dairy, carbs, and gluten, which personally I’m all for!).
Sorry for the long-winded answer! Hard to say if my experience over here is generalizable to students specifically, but there you have it!
Julie – to give a little background, the grad student emailed to ask if she can write an article about the topic for inclusion in the magazine for which I work. I imagine that Italian, Asian, Afro-Caribbean or Eastern European -American cultures might be a little more “foody” than Northern European Americans, which could be one of the reasons for her interest (although her academic background is in cuisine too). There isn’t a huge food culture with my Irish cousins, for instance. It’s something I hadn’t given much thought to either, but I am looking forward to the article. For me, at the turn of the millennium, students had an instant noodles culture in Ireland – but there also would have been those who bought and cooked their vegetables and meat, or international students who had quiche parties(!).
I think your points are probably spot-on – as a psych student, I tend to get hung up on all the extenuating factors (urbanization, financial means, level of schooling) that could lead to differences and prevent me from giving an idea of the entire American or British student bodies. Sounds like a great topic of research and I’m sure will be a very interesting article! Send it on if you think of it 🙂